UPDATE: Nobleton Zoning By-law Created Through Public Consultation

The Nobleton Zoning By-law was adopted by Council in July 2016 after a lengthy pubic consultation including public notifications, community meetings and workshops, a well-attended business forum, newspaper articles, ongoing communication via my website and social media accounts – and of course, good ol conversation.

Here is a general outline of the process that has helped us achieve the goal of up-dating our by-law:

In late 2014, King Township began the process of updating the Zoning By-laws for our urban areas. The plan was to create a By-law for Nobleton that would also serve as a template for the villages of King City and Schomberg.

Throughout the course of 2015 and into 2016 a tremendous amount of public consultation occurred. There was an outpour of support from residents and business owners who contributed their time attending workshops, community meetings and business forums. This community input proved to be invaluable. Through this open public process — a solid, first-rate By-law was created that will serve our community for years to come. The substantial amount of community engagement was identified and recognized by MMM Planners as a vital element in the successful creation of the Nobleton (template) By-law — that will also benefit our neighbouring King Township villages.

Two key areas of focus were identified through the community consultation process: core revitalization and stabilization of our existing neighbourhoods.

It has been well-established that Nobleton is in desperate need of a major overhaul of our core area. The new By-law makes it easier for core area property owners to transition their properties. This was accomplished through the creation of a core area zone. The core area zone enables and expands a number of permitted uses that are traditionally associated with a “downtown” or “Main Street” such as, restaurants, shops, mixed use commercial residential and professional office spaces. How often do you hear that we need to create an urban feel– with a downtown core that serves its residents and attracts visitors?

The second key element was the desire to protect the look and feel of our existing neighbourhoods as they transition and rebuild. A diverse group of residents from all pockets of the community participated in several workshops and were asked to provide feedback on items such as building heights, set backs of front, side and rear yards, lot sizes and permeable surfaces. The result was By-law up-dates that respectfully reflected the views expressed by residents.

The best tools we as a Council can provide to our residents and business owners to help achieve these goals is via a strong, up-to-date zoning By-law that reflects the needs and wants of our community. Note: the Zoning By-law was designed to reflect the 2001 community plan and will be amended to reflect the Township’s new Official Plan that is nearing completion.

Nobleton residents and business owners played an integral role and establishing our new Zoning By-law and should be proud of all their hard work. A heartfelt “thank you” goes out to everyone who participated in the process.

To clarify — the Public Meeting on April 3rd, 2017 was aimed at sharing information, answering questions and gathering Council’s input to establish if and how the recently adopted Nobleton By-law should be integrated into one new By-law to include all three urban areas: King City, Nobleton and Schomberg.

The upside of having one By-law would be for the ease of administration. The downside is that the new King Zoning By-law would be open for appeals — and the appeal on a portion of the by-law from one of the other villages could lead to significant changes to the Nobleton portion of the By-law — jeopardizing the hard work and effort by those who have participated in the process thus far. Conversely, an appeal on the Nobleton section could delay the passing and implementation of the By-law for King City and Schomberg. This does not seem like a logical direction to endorse.

The good news is the appeal that was launched against the Nobleton By-law has for the most part been resolved. A 2016 appeal was submitted by a development group that owns lands that were the subject of the recently publicized OMB decision that added a small pocket of land to the Nobleton urban area. Because the lands were added they needed to be zoned, hence the reason for the appeal. Zoning the lands became an administrative process that now awaits final approval. Once this approval is granted, the Nobleton By-law that was adopted by Council and supported by the community will come in to cause and effect. I hope this clears up any confusion that was potentially created by a few misguided, yet pointed comments from community members at the Public Meeting on April 3rd.

I am not in favour of repealing our Nobleton By-law to seek the creation of one Urban Area Zoning By-law. I believe the required administrative changes can be achieved through amendments to the new Nobleton By-law. We will continue to provide information and updates as the we take the next steps to secure the best interests of our community.